Nurses fighting for a new deal with Brigham and Women’s Hospital were able to avoid a strike Thursday after reaching a tentative agreement with the hospital, a union spokesperson told Boston 25.
Roughly 4,000 nurses were prepared to strike for one day in an effort to coax the hospital to up staffing.
“When we fight alongside our colleagues for our patients and our nursing practice, we win. This tentative agreement represents a significant investment by the hospital and MGB to help with recruitment and retention and improve our patient care conditions,” said Kelly Morgan, a Brigham labor and delivery nurse and BWH MNA Chair.
The nurses voted to authorize a strike on July 24. The nurses’ union said some of their biggest concerns are staffing and safety.
Nurses told Boston 25 they had been negotiating with the hospital for months but still hadn’t reached a deal.
“Nurses are getting assaulted almost daily, the emergency room is on fire on a daily basis, and nurses and other ancillary staff are really getting harassed, bullied, physically assaulted,” said Shuley.
“We’re chronically short-staffed, we don’t have the proper equipment needed to take care of our sick patients, and I think nurses are at a point where a strike is the last thing we would do, but it’s our weapon that we need to choose at this point,” said Robin Lucia, who’s been a nurse for 40 years at the Brigham.
In the agreement, nurses will receive a competitive wage, a 20% to 30% increase over the course of 2.5 years, depending on where they are on the BWH MNA wage scale, the ability to switch between MGB and MNA health insurance and increased safety training.
“We are so pleased to have come to an agreement with the Massachusetts Nursing Association on a new contract that recognizes the tremendous care our nurses provide each and every day to our patients and their families and reflects important agreements on issues critical to all of us, particularly in the area of workplace safety,” a statement from Brigham and Women’s hospital read.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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